1. Statement of the Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of messaging services on a wireless communication network, and more particularly to a method and system for efficient short or multimedia messaging service message delivery using wireless network communication infrastructures not intended to deliver these types of messages.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the affordability and availability of wireless communication technologies have increased, so too have the demands for applications that use these wireless communication technologies increased beyond mere voice communications. Short message service (“SMS”) and multimedia message service (“MMS”) are applications available in wireless data networks. SMS is a text message service that enables short messages of typically no more than a few hundred characters in length to be received by and transmitted from a wireless access terminal such as a cell phone, wireless personal digital assistant (“PDA”), etc. MMS is a similar messaging service used to transmit multimedia messages to and from a wireless access terminal.
Because SMS and MMS (referred to collectively herein as “SMS”) applications evolved from prior generation radio transmission technologies, such as Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) and Time Division Multiple Access (“TDMA”) wireless network communication technologies, the addressing and routing schemes for SMS messages are limited to those used in 1xRTT networks such as those based on Mobile Station Identity/International Mobile Subscriber Identity/Mobile Identity Number (“MSID/IMSI/MIN”) (collectively referred to herein as “station identifier”). CDMA, TDMA and MSID/IMS/MIN standards are well defined and are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, detailed descriptions of these technologies and standards are not provided herein. A station identifier is typically the telephone number of the wireless access terminal, for example, a ten digit number comprised of an area code followed by a seven digit number as is commonly used in the United States.
Because 1xRTT networks were and are primarily intended for the transmission of digitized voice transmission, these networks are not optimized to handle high data rate transmission and typically offer data transmission rates only in the 10 s of kilobits per second. New and emerging wireless transmission technologies such as third generation 1xEV-DO (evolution data-only) networks offer data rates in the multi-megabit per second range. However, unlike 1xRTT networks, wireless access devices in 1xEV-DO wireless communication networks are not identified by telephone number (station identifier). Rather, users and terminals are identified using a computer-like designation such as a user ID and network address identifier, for example, user@domain.com. In this example, “user” refers to the user ID and “domain.com” is the network address identifier. This addressing designation is assigned to a user and is referred to herein as a “mobile static identifier”. Addressing schemes for user ID and network access identifier networks such as those used in 1xEV-DO networks are known in the art. When a 1xEV-DO wireless access terminal user logs into the network, the mobile static identifier is associated with a internet protocol (“IP”)—address so that data destined for the wireless access terminal can be routed through the 1xEV-DO network to the wireless access terminal. Accordingly, routing in a 1xEV-DO network is based on the -IP protocol. In contrast, routing in a 1xRTT network is based on the station identifier (telephone number) and uses a different routing technology such as signaling system 7 (“SS 7”).
The incompatibility between wireless access terminal identification schemes and network routing schemes means that SMS messages formed using 1xRTT station identifiers cannot be delivered to wireless access terminals or routed on 1xEV-DO networks or any network for which arrangement for identifying wireless access terminals is other than the standardized 1xRTT schemes. Accordingly, wireless network service providers cannot support the popular SMS applications on 1xEV-DO networks.
This problem is exacerbated as wireless service network service providers deploy high speed wireless network infrastructures such as 1xEV-DO networks while maintaining the older technology 1xRTT networks. Wireless network service providers need to position their offerings such that the older technology networks such as 1xRTT networks can eventually be phased out. However, because SMS applications rely on the station identifier addressing and routing schemes, wireless network service providers will be forced to maintain parallel networks or discontinue the offering of SMS applications.
One solution that has been proposed is to use a 1xEV-DO wireless access terminal in a hybrid mode to support both 1xEV-DO networks and 1xRTT networks so that the standard mechanism for SMS delivery can be supported on the same wireless access terminal. This arrangement has shortcomings. For example, the wireless access terminal must monitor both 1xRTT and 1xEV-DO carriers, thereby reducing the throughput of the wireless access terminal when the wireless access terminal tunes to the 1xRTT carrier to check for the message. Also, monitoring both 1xRTT and 1xEV-DO carriers reduces the battery life of the wireless access terminal, thereby requiring more frequent recharging. In addition, the complexity of the wireless access terminal is increased because it must be designed and incorporate hardware and software to support two different types of carriers and two different air interface methodologies.
It is therefore desirable to have a method and system which allows SMS messages to be delivered to and from a wireless access terminal using only a network which uses a network access identifier/user ID addressing and routing scheme, such as those currently offered by 1xEV-DO networks, without the need for changes to well known standards and without the need to support multiple carrier formats, addressing and routing schemes, etc. It is also desirable to have a system and method for SMS message delivery which does not require that a wireless network service provider maintain parallel network technologies if it does not desire to do so.